ACC Men’s Soccer News and Notes: Week 2

ACC in the Top 25

Wake Forest is the consensus No. 1 ranked team by both the United Soccer Coaches and Soccer America. The ACC has six teams ranked in both polls this week (No. 1/1 Wake Forest, No. 2/9 Duke, No. 7/11 Virginia, No. 9/5 Louisville, No. 12/4 North Carolina and No. 24/25 Notre Dame). NC State and Clemson are No. 14 and No. 19 in the Soccer America poll.

The ACC owns five wins over teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll, including Wake Forest’s win over No. 2 Indiana and NC State’s victory at No. 4 Akron.

Successful 2017

The ACC is coming off a 2017 season in which it sent an NCAA-record nine teams to the NCAA Championship for the second straight year, with four teams advancing to the Sweet 16 and three to the Elite Eight. North Carolina advanced to the College Cup to mark the 17th straight year at least one ACC team has reached that stage.

Preseason Views

North Carolina was selected as the league favorite to win the 2018 ACC Championship. The Tar Heels were also picked to win the Coastal Division while Wake Forest was selected as the Atlantic Division favorite.

Two ACC men’s soccer players have been named to the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list: North Carolina senior defender Alex Comsia and Clemson senior goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland. An ACC players has claimed soccer’s top honor 19 times, including the past two winners – Wake Forest’s Jon Bakero and Ian Harkes.

ACC Championship

All 12 teams will compete in the ACC Championship. The tournament will begin on Wednesday, Oct. 31 with first round games. The quarterfinals are set for Sunday, Nov. 4, followed by the semifinals on Wednesday, Nov. 7, and the championship match on Sunday, Nov. 11. The first three rounds will be held on the campus of the higher seeded team, and the title game will be held at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.